What Causes Multiple Sclerosis?

byAdmin - Cynthia PerkinsonAugust 21, 2009

Although mainstream medicine takes the position that they don’t know what causes multiple sclerosis, also referred to as MS, those of us in the natural health field feel otherwise. Many people like this visitor are looking for alternatives, so we answer the following question:

Like most health conditions, what causes multiple sclerosis is not usually the result of one factor alone. There are typically many different facets that contribute to a condition, illness or disease and requires a long-term and comprehensive approach that address each of these issues.

For those of you who are unaware, multiple sclerosis is believed to be an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and damage to tissues in the central nervous system. In an autoimmune disease, the immune system attacks itself. In this condition, the targeted area of attack are the tissues known as myelin sheath. Myelin sheath is a fatty material that surrounds and protects the nerve pathways in our brain and spinal cord. This ultimately leads to deterioration of the nerves themselves and interferes in your brains ability to communicate with the rest of the body.

Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis

The symptoms of multiple sclerosis may range in severity anywhere from mild and uncomfortable to the complete inability to walk, write, talk or see and anything in between. They may include the following:

Profound fatigue

Dizziness

Cognitive and Memory problems

Lack of coordination and balance

Visual disturbance – blurring, double vision, complete or partial loss of vision usually experienced in one eye at a time and accompanied by pain in the eye.

Muscle weakness or numbness in one or more of the limbs, typically occurring on one side of the body at a time.

What we have here is a condition that affects the immune system and the nervous system. Like most health conditions, many of us in the natural health field believe that the bottom line for what causes multiple sclerosis usually boils down to dietary factors and environmental toxins.

The following factors have been found to play a major role in multiple sclerosis. I encourage you to read this page and be sure to visit each of the links in blue to get more in depth information on each of these aspects.

Hidden Food Sensitivity

A lot of the foods we eat today are not genetically compatible with our body’s biochemistry and result in inflammation in the body. This inflammation can trigger an autoimmune response. Some of the most common foods to be problematic for those with MS include sugar, eggs, dairy, yeast, grains and legumes.

Many people with MS have been able to significantly reduce their symptoms of multiple sclerosis and decrease inflammation and flares by identifying their hidden food sensitivities and adjusting their diet accordingly.

Regardless of which health condition you live with, the diet that our ancestors ate is believed to be the healthiest and most compatible diet for our bodies, not the junk food diet of today that is filled with sugar, white flour and other nutritionally lacking garbage. The diet that we are most genetically adapted to eat is the Paleolithic diet, which consists of unprocessed and organic meat, fish, eggs, low-starch vegetables, and a small amount of low-sugar fruits, nuts and seeds

Eating a diet that is lower in saturated fat, removing sugar, caffeine, white flour and other refined foods, additives and preservatives and rich in vegetables has been helpful for many.

Candida albicans is a yeast that can overtake the body, release a variety of toxins and result in many debilitating symptoms that are very similar to MS. When we have an invader in the body, the bodies natural response is for the immune system to attack it. It is believed in the case of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, that the immune system may be attempting to fight Candida, but ends up attacking itself in the process.

Many symptoms of multiple sclerosis can be eliminated by following a Candida diet, using probiotics and antifungals, in addition to the other issues mentioned on this page.

The accumulation of heavy metals in the body, with special emphasis on mercury is believed to be one of the major factors for what causes multiple sclerosis, as well as many other health conditions such as autism, depression, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, neurotransmitter malfunctioning, kidney disease, thyroid disease and many more. Mercury is a neurotoxin that damages the nervous system, endocrine system and immune system and is found most commonly in silver amalgam dental fillings and vaccines, but also in fish, cfl light bulbs, air pollution, pesticides, fabric softener, tattoos to name only a few.

For multiple sclerosis, as well as any other health condition, it is crucial to eliminate these toxins from your life as much as possible and take steps to try and detox what has already accumulated in the body.

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers whose function is to relay information from one nerve cell, or neuron, to another. They are essentially the communication system within the brain and how the brain communicates with the body and are crucial for proper functioning of not only the nervous system, but all organ systems.

Poor diet, excessive stress, environmental toxins and sometimes genetics are often responsible for causing neurotransmitter imbalances or deficiencies, which results in a variety of undesirable symptoms and conditions like fatigue, depression, anxiety, addiction, memory and cognitive functioning, concentration problems, muscle problems and many more.

People with multiple sclerosis have been found to have a variety of abnormalities in their neurotransmitters, including increased levels of noradrenaline, glutamate, aspartate, glutamine, glycine and asparagine. There also seems to be a correlation between these imbalances and the severity of their neurological symptoms and progression of the disease.

It’s hard for us to say whether it is neurotransmitter imbalances that contribute to MS or vice versa, but either way, it would be prudent to provide neurotransmitter support.

Nutritional deficiencies are related to not only what causes multiple sclerosis, but pretty much any health condition that exists. We are a nutrient deficient society and this results in deterioration of the mind and body and malfunctioning of the organ systems.

A variety of supplements have been found to be beneficial for multiple sclerosis, including: alpha-lipoic acid, vitamin d3, essential fatty acids, lecithin, vitamin B12, Vitamin e and glutathione. A supplement called Resveratrol has also been very successful for some people.

To sum things up, it’s important to keep in mind as you investigate each of these issues that we are all unique biochemically and even though we may share a common diagnosis, sometimes the road to improvement or recovery may be slightly different depending on our own personal circumstance. One person may have all the issues mentioned above as a contributing factor in their multiple sclerosis, while another person may have only two or three. Some symptoms of multiple sclerosis may be alleviated by removing hidden food sensitivities, while other symptoms may be alleviated with a nutritional supplement or detoxification.

Although, we may not be able to say with 100% certainty that the issues we’ve discussed are really what causes multiple sclerosis, we know for sure that those afflicted who address these issues find significant improvements in their health and some have even completely reversed the process and achieved total recovery.

I am a 25 year old female and have recently been diagnosed with MS. I have been vegan most of my life, have stayed away from junk food, buy organic, and have never had the bad habit of smoking. I do not know what else I can do to help myself. I try to go to yoga when I’m able to walk normally and do mindfulness exercises. What else should I be doing? I feel pretty lost with all this pain but have been trying my hardest to help myself. Anything else I should try?

The post directly above is pretty extensive and lists numerous options you have not tried yet. I would suggest reading this post thoroughly and visiting all the links I provided for additional information. Then research each of these possibilities as potential factors in your life and address accordingly.

Linda Brocato-DAMS-IL // Aug 23, 2009 at 3:46 pm After 3 hospitalizations, 8 different medications including oral and intravenous chemotherapy for MS, the controversial treatment of plasmaphoresis and suffering from slurred speech I finally discovered the cause. If I were going to die I was going to try 1 more thing I heard about…that was the controversial replacement of my 16 dental amalgam fillings better known as “silver” fillings. I thought it was insane because for sure my dentist would have told me. I had all 16 fillings replaced with composite fillings and I noticed my slurred speech started to disappear. As of today I have had NO MEDICATIONS, NO HOSPITALZATIONS, NO RELAPSES OF MS in 19 years. Yes, I was “mercury poisoned”. Mercury is released from the “mercury” dental filling 24/7 everytime a person chews, drinks hot liquids, brushes their teeth, etc. The side e ffects have left me in a wheelchair. Does this happen in all cases…NO. But we don’t know who is hypersensitive to metals?

That’s great, Linda. Glad to hear you found something that worked for you.

Yes, many people with MS as well as a variety of other health conditions like candida, mcs, rheumatoid, autism and many more have had results by removing their amalgam fillings. That would fall under the category of heavy metals which I mentioned above.

However, a few words of caution: Nobody should run out and have their amalgams removed without thorough research and understanding of the process. You must have them removed using the correct protocol or more damage can be done. They must be removed in a specific manner and a variety of steps need to be taken in conjunction, like intravenous vitamin C and chelation. You must make sure the dentist you use is educated in the Hal Huggins protocol for mercury removal.

I would suggest you read Hal Huggins book “It’s all in Your Head,” and Dr. Jerome’s book “Tooth Truth” and all of Dr. Hulda Clark’s books.

It’s also important to keep in mind that although many people do get relief, some people do not. I had my amalgams removed many years ago in an attempt to address a variety of health conditions using the correct procedure and did chelation with DMSA afterwards and I did not have any improvement in my health. Not only that, due to severe sensitivities, I was unable to tolerate any composites or other dental materials to replace them. They all made me sick. I ended up losing most of the teeth and now have dentures. Ultimately I believe dentures made with safe materials are better than silver amalgam fillings, and don’t regret the decision, but this is something you need to be prepared to face if it works out that way. There really isn’t any dental material that is safe to put in the mouth.

My research now tells me that DMSA and DMPS are probably not the best chelators and that the reason I didn’t have improvements in my health is because the mercury is probably still in my body. I am now addressing this with zeolite, chlorella, and clay baths. So I strongly recommend you read the link I gave in my post above for understanding other ways of removing mercury from your body. Here it is again:

I’m not saying you shouldn’t have amalgams removed. I’m just saying that this is serious business and should be done with a knowledgeable and competent health care provider. Be aware of all the risks and understand the process completely. Also understand that there are usually many nails in the shoe, and although it was the only nail for Linda, that may not be the case for everyone. It’s usually a combination of factors. Investigate all options and have realistic expectations.